BASTERFIELD, KEITH. NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES: AN AUSTRALIAN SURVEY.

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• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00792R000700920001-9
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• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 17, 2000
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Approved For Release 2000/08/15: CIA-RDP96-00792R000700920001-9
Exceptional Human Experience
the seventh chapter, "Explanations," Moody discusses why he
considers NDEs to be spiritual experiences and then
describes the many attempts to explain NDEs, including the
birth experience hypothesis, carbon dioxide overload, hal-
lucination, fantasy, wish fulfillment, and the collective uncon-
scious. In the "Conclusion," he expresses his conviction that
NDEs provide evidence of life after life. The bibliography,
with paragraph-length annotations, consists of research reports
that helped him to form his "knowledge and opinion on the
subject of near-death experience" (p. 157). - R.A.W.
03991. Perry, Paul. Brushes with death. Psychology
Today, 1988 (Sep), 22(9), 14-17. 2 illus
Paul Perry presents a popular review of NDE
research that touches on the work of Raymond Moody,
Michael Sabom, and Melvin Morse, with the emphasis on
Moody: The Light Beyond is described as Moody's last
book on NDEs. His next work supposedly will be on past-
life regression. Brief descriptions of 9 traits associated with
NDEs are given. Paul Kurtz criticizes NDEs by pointing to
confusion in the definition of death, the fact that evidence is
anecdotal, and that there are several physiological explana-
tions for NDEs, as there are for the related OBE. - R.A.W.
SURVEYS
-
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-uearn experiences: An
an survey. Australian r .:.... _ _ r ..
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), ivo. 9, 1-4. 2 illus; 10
-- s; 1 questionnaire
reported a near-death experience (NDE).~J~Thedl12 returned
questionnaires reveal that Australian NDEs are very similar
to those reported overseas. This adds to the legitimacy of
the experience, and demonstrates the need for more scientific
studies. - DA
03993. Holden, Janice Miner. Unexpected findings in a
study of visual perception during the naturalistic near-
death out-of-body experience. Journal of Near-Death
Studies, 1989 (Spr), 7(3), 155-163. 3 figs; 12 refs
A study [03246] of visual perception during the
naturalistic near-death out-of-body experience (nND OBE),
that aspect of the NDE in which the experiencer seems to
view normal physical surroundings from a vantage point out-
side the physical body, yielded some unexpected findings
that contradicted or augmented previous research. The
majority of respondents were able to estimate the duration
of the nND OBE; a sizable proportion reported delay of
recall of the nND OBE; and the vast majority reported recep-
tivity to subsequent verification of nND OBE perceptions.
Each of these findings is discussed relative to previous
research and analyzed in light of the limitations of the cur-
rent study. Implications for further research are discussed. -
DA
=L Allan, Heaven, y attittudes~ toward a
o
nea -death experiences.
An
"ustralian study. Journal of N
ear-Death Studies, 1989
(Spr), 7(3), 165-172. 16 refs; 3 tables
In an Australian survey of community attitudes toward
near-death experiences (NDEs), 173 respondents were asked
to read a hypothetical description of an NDE and to select
from a range of explanations that might approximate their
own. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents believed the
NDE was evidence of life after death, while less than 2 per-
cent believed the NDE was a sign of mental illness.
Women, younger persons, and those who professed a belief
in life after death were more likely to react positively to
Vol. 8, Nos. 1/2 December 1990
the NDE described. - DA
THEORETICAL
03995. Basterfield, Keith. The cause of near-death ex-
periences: A review. Australian Institute of Psychic
Research (AIPR) Bulletin, 1985 (Jan/Feb), No. 5, 10-14. 35
refs
This article surveys several proposed explanations of
near-death experiences (NDEs); mundane, such as dream-like
visions and subconscious fabrication; religious; pharmacologi-
cal; neurological (temporal-lobe seizures and beta-endorphins)/
physiological; psychological, including depersonalization; and
the parapsychological holographic model of Ring. All
models fail because they are unable to explain all aspects of
the NDE. Analysis of individual reports in terms of each
model should prove more fruitful. - DT/M.J.H.
03996. Blackmore, Susan. Visions from the dying brain.
New Scientist, 1988 (May 5), 118, 43-46. 4 illus
Near-death experiences may tell us more about con-
sciousness and the brain than about what lies beyond the
grave. - DA
03997. Kellehear, Allan. Sociological reasonsalfiaorn the
recent interest in near-death experiences. Austr In-
stitute of Psychic Research (AIPR) Bulletin, 1985 (Jan/Feb),
No. 5, 7-9. 11 refs
Four recent major changes in society have lead to the
recent explosion of interest in the near-death experience
(NDE). (1) Technological and demographic changes underly-
ing our experience with death: improved technology means
more people are being revived after nearly dying, and more
people are living in cities, where the incidence of stress and
alcoholism is increasing. (2) Our resultant changing view of
death and dying: death is no longer a taboo topic for conver-
sation; and orthodox institutions and health care methods are
being criticized more. (3) The changing role of religion;
traditional simple images of God and the after life are being
rejected. (4) Our changing relationship with institutions;
society has tended to reject authority and institutional care
in favor of self-help. - DT/M.J.H.
03998. Noyes,, Russell, Jr. Near-death experiences: Their
Interpretation and significance. In Robert Kastenbaum
(Ed.); Between Life and Death (pp. 73-88). New York,
Springer, 1974. 29 refs; 2 tables
Alive one moment--but perhaps dead the next. How
does a person think and feel in the midst of a life-
threatening situation? Psychiatrist Russell Noyes, Jr. has
studied responses to near-death experiences in a variety of
circumstances, including falls, drownings, and accidents, as
well as illness. Interesting though the information is on a
descriptive level, Noyes presses on to a possible explanation.
Depersonalization is a central concept here. Noyes sug-
gests that "the depersonalized state is one that mimics death."
The threatened individual psychologically escapes death "for
what has already happened cannot happen again; he cannot
die because he is already dead." Other key concepts for
Noyes are the state of hyperalertness and the generation of
panoramic memory in the life-or-death crisis situation.
Here is a careful and sensitive analysis of the human
response to immediate mortal danger, one that respects ex-
periential data but attempts to draw its principles from
dynamics already known in the broad realm of human be-
havior rather than invoke mysterious concepts to explain mys-
terious events. However Noyes's theory may hold up against
the test of time, it offers a lucid and provocative approach
for us today. - DA
Approved For Release 2000/08/15: CIA-RDP96-00792R000700920001-9